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Originally Posted by Haven
Thanks to all of you for your advice! How long ahead of time can I make and freeze the cakes and they still taste fresh? Another change in this cake is that she wants all buttercream frosting - not fondant. I'm not sure if that will make it easier or harder to decorate, but I will give it a go!
Happy to help, Haven. The reason I suggested buying the entire set of Wilton Hexagon pans is because you will find that you need to physically place the pans on top of each other to SEE how it looks to you as a finished tower. I had trouble with this in mixing pan shapes, so now I put 'em together "pretend", and see what works and what doesn't.
If you purchase the hexagon pan set BEFORE you purchase your square pans, you can make a pretend square shape out of cardboard. I'd suggest a cardboard 16" square and a 14" square. (Note: Make SURE you oven can accomodate a 16" square and/or 14" square pan size! Some ovens are not deep enough.)
The square pans will be more expensive ( Magic Line or Fat Daddio's), so you will be able to purchase exactly what you need with this method. I strongly recommend that you do NOT purchase the Wilton square pan set available in the craft stores. Although the hexagon set is wonderful, the Wilton square/rectangles sold in craft stores with coupons are STUPID and have angled sides.
Freezing: Place your nearly cooled or completely cooled cake on a cardboard cake circle. Wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap. (I wrap mine twice in plastic wrap.) Then wrap the whole thing in heavy duty aluminum foil. Two hours before you are ready to tort/fill/assemble/decorate, put the STILL WRAPPED cake on the counter to defrost. Condensation will form on the outside of the wrapper, not on the cake.
I've frozen and defrosted cakes after a month and they are still wonderful, but I'd recommend one or two weeks. Do not freeze with other non-cake food items that may impart an odor you wouldn't want in a cake.